'He suffered a lot:' California man who died from COVID-19 visited Disney World, Universal Studios

GLENDORA, Calif. -- A California man who died after testing positive for COVID-19 recently visited Walt Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida, it was reported Thursday, March 19.

In a Facebook post, family members of Jeffrey Ghazarian, 34, said he died Thursday morning at a Pasadena hospital after being hospitalized for several days, according to TMZ.

"He suffered a lot and put up a good fight," his sister stated, according to TMZ. "We will miss our Jeff every day, but we are thankful for all the fun, happy memories of the times we had together."

According to his family, Ghazarian flew from Los Angeles to Orlando on March 2 for a work conference. During his time in Orlando, he went to Disney World and Universal theme parks with friends.

TMZ reported that Ghazarian began to develop a cough on March 7, and the next day, he coughed up blood.

He returned to Los Angeles International Airport on March 9 and immediately went to the emergency room, where he also had a high fever.

TMZ reported medical personnel performed a chest X-ray and confirmed that Ghazarian had pneumonia. He was reportedly tested for COVID-19 before he was sent home with antibiotics and fluids -- instructed to self-quarantine while he awaited the results.

He found out he tested positive for coronavirus on March 13, TMZ reported. The next day, he was taken to the hospital by ambulance and quickly transferred to the ICU, at which point doctors discovered that his lungs were 60 to 70% blocked with pneumonia.

Doctors chose to sedate and intubate him in hopes that using a ventilator would help his lungs heal.

Ghazarian passed away Thursday morning. His family stated he had a history of asthma and frequent bronchitis as a child. He also had beat testicular cancer back in 2016, which made him a higher risk for contracting coronavirus.